Jared wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but it didn’t sound good, so he hoped John and Calvin found some tack when they went looking.
“I also want to bring a dog back here and feed it, make it hang around,” John inserted.
Everyone looked at him sideways. Food was not an issue yet, but everyone knew it would be. One more mouth to feed meant that time would arrive sooner than later.
“Listen,” John continued. “A dog can be an early warning device. There is no way for us to string up cans around this entire place, and the OP shifts are starting to wear on all of us. We need sleep in order to work during the day. If we had twenty people up here, it wouldn’t be that big an issue, but we don’t, so I think a dog could be a real asset—worth the food we’d feed it,” John argued, although no one uttered a word in protest. Their disapproving looks had propelled him into his current defensive posture. After a moment, John dropped the subject altogether.
The group decided John and Calvin would not take the Beetle since the car would either spook any horses they came across or attract unwanted folks. Either way, the outcome could be disastrous. The two left on foot the following morning, taking their packs, rifles and sidearms along with some rope Calvin found in the shed behind the ranch house. Calvin grumbled about the so-called rope, which was, in his opinion, a mere half step above twine.
Jared stood on the porch, watching the men leave, with Essie standing at his side, holding his hand. Barry and Shannon were out at the OP, perhaps saying their goodbyes as John and Calvin passed by. Things were much different now than before the event. Before the event, people would leave for the store and, half the time, there were no goodbyes. Nowadays, everyone knew a goodbye could be your last.
John and Calvin left, moving through the hills, avoiding the roads. Livestock was more likely to be encountered in the rolling California hills, where grass and water were more bountiful than in less rural areas of the Bay Area, so the men moved slowly, looking as they trekked along. John looked for any sign of a threat while Calvin kept his eyes peeled for any sign that horses were in the area.
Late in the afternoon and not that terribly far from the ranch house, they came across several horses. When the men got within fifty yards, the spirited horses snorted and fled. Calvin grumbled about needing a horse to catch a horse as John watched the last of the tiny herd disappear over a small knoll.
“If they’re left out here to pasture for too long, they get a little wild. We can’t use wild horses; they do us no good. The horses we need will let us get close.” Calvin sighed.
John shrugged. “Let’s go find some tame horses, then.”
After two days, the men had the horses they needed and started back for the ranch house. Calvin made sure two of the animals were saddled while the rest carried all the gear they would need. It was much easier on Calvin riding back than it had been walking out, and John saw a much happier and energetic Calvin now that they were on horseback.
Three days later, Jared was sitting in the OP when he caught movement several hundred yards out and brought the binoculars to his face. Calvin and John were astride two magnificent steeds with three more in tow.
“Holy smokes, they found five,” Jared uttered under his breath. He stood and waved as the men closed on the OP. When neither man waved back, Jared stopped waving and assumed a more professional posture. He knew the two would be tired and in no mood for the excited-puppy treatment from someone who hadn’t been out on the trail with them. As the men drew closer, Jared was able to make out more details and realized the three animals in tow were also saddled.
When the men were within earshot, Jared called out to them, “How’d it go?”
“It went,” was all John said.
Jared frowned, but didn’t press the men. Both looked worn out, and Jared was sure they would be half-starved as well.
“You boys are in for a rough ride,” Calvin said.
“How’s that?” Jared asked, his face growing dark.
John shifted in his saddle, looking back towards the Bay Area. “We got close two nights ago. Place is worse than before. Lot of fires, and at night, sound really carries, if you know what I mean.”
A chill ran through Jared as he thought about his short yet very violent time in the flatlands around the Bay before he and Bart made it into the relative safety of the hill country. Now the thought of venturing back down into the chaos was unnerving. Jared tugged at his jacket’s zipper, moving it an inch higher as if this might stave off any of the cold hard truth about what he would face down below.
That evening, Jared sat on the couch with Essie, brushing her hair. Shannon and Barry were at the OP while Calvin and John slept in the back bedrooms.
“I’m leaving tomorrow to go get your lovey and pony box,” Jared said as he drew the brush gently through her hair. “I want it to be a surprise for everyone here, so I need you to keep it a secret, okay?”
Essie turned her head to him. “Even Shannon?”
“Yes, even Shannon,” Jared said, smiling down at the girl.
Chapter 8
Two days later, Jared, John and Barry set out on horseback toward the Bay Area. Calvin had spent the day before familiarizing Jared and Barry with the finer aspects of horsemanship. While in the military, John had ridden in both training
